I found three cutworms in a 3 sqft area while weeding yesterday. Maybe the mild winter we had means more cutworms this spring. I normally don't have to protect my transplants but maybe I will this year.

I've tried the toilet paper roll core trick a few times, and seems to work on the larger plants.

Elsewhere I've read that cutworms actually need to wrap around the stem to hold on while it eats away at the stem. Any truth to this? If it were, wouldn't a few tooth picks close to the stem stop the worms against grasping for leverage?